PARIS (August 21) – Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) won a third world title on Monday in Paris to go with his Rio 2016 gold medal with a 3-1 win over last November’s Golden Grand Prix Final winner Musa EVLOEV (RUS) – in a bout in which both wrestlers were cautiously aggressive.
Aleksanyan scored a pair of technical falls, out-scoring four opponents, 29-4, in the morning session before leading off the evening with his third world title as the 98kg category, normally saved for one of the later finals, was the first group of medal matches contested at AccorHotels Arena.
Meanwhile, in the other gold medal finals, Germany’s Frank STAEBLER (71kg) won his second world title and Denis KUDLA (85kg), came up short in the evening’s final, 2-1, to European silver medalist Metehan BASAR (TUR).
Staebler opened the 71kg final with a takedown for two and received two more points on a leg foul by surprise finalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) in the first period. Staebler then scored with a body tackle and another leg penalty by Zhadrayev for a 8-1 lead and his second world title.
Staebler and Kudla were the first duo Germans to reach the gold medal finals at a world championships since Alfred TER-MKRTCHYAN (52kg) and Thomas ZANDER (82kg) both won titles at the 1994 world championships in Tampere, Finland.
In the 75kg gold medal final, Rio 2016 Olympian Viktor NEMES (SRB) slipped behind a force-out effort by Aleksander CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) in the second period to cap a 4-1 win for the 2016 European silver medalist.
It was Nemes’s first world title and the second world wrestling gold medal for Serbia after Davor STEFANEK (66kg) won the 2014 world title in Tashkent. Stefanek also won the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
In the bronze medal bouts, Iran snared medals in three of the finals. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) was one point away from losing by technical fall to 2016 world silver medalist Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) at 71kg.
Former world champion Saeid Mourad ABDVALI (IRI) opened the bout with a go-behind takedown at 75kg and Kazbek KILOV (BLR) ended the bout with a slap for a two-point penalty and technical fall win Abdvali.
And at 85kg, Asian champion Hossein NOURI (IRI) fashioned a 4-0 win over two-time junior world champ Islam ABBASOV (AZE) with a series of step-out points.
In the other bronze medal matches, 2016 world champion Balint KORPASI (HUN) rebounded from a semifinal loss and claimed a bronze medal with a 2-1 win over Adam KURAK (RUS) on passivity points at 71kg.
Korpasi’s teammate at 75kg, Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) received a pair of points in the first period and stretched it to a 2-1 win over Fatih CENGIZ (TUR), winner at the Vehbi Emre tourney in Istanbul in March.
At 85kg, Robert KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) received an injury default from Rio 2016 gold medalist Davit CHAKVETADZE, who injured his knee in a 4-2 loss to Basar.
At 98kg, Rio Olympian Revazi NADAREISHVILI (GEO) eased past 2015 world silver medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) 3-1, while European bronze medalist Balasz KISS (HUN) defeated 2015 European Games silver medalist Dimitry TIMCHENKO (UKR).
Results Gold & Bronze Medal Finals
Greco-Roman
71kg (38 entries)
Gold – Frank STAEBLER (GER) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 8-2
Bronze – Balint KORPASI (HUN) df. Adam KURAK (RUS), 2-1
Bronze – Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df.Daniel CATARAGA (MDA), 10-8
75kg (34 entries)
Gold – Viktor NEMES (SRB) df. Aleksander CHEKHIRKIN (RUS), 4-1
Bronze – Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) df. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR), 2-1
Bronze – Saeid Mourad ABDVALI (IRI) df. Kazbek KILOV (BLR) by TF, 8-0, 5:22
85kg (35 entries)
Gold – Metehan BASAR (TUR) df. Denis KUDLA (GER), 2-1
Bronze – Hossein NOURI (IRI) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 4-0
Bronze – Robert KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) df. Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS) by Injury Default, 0:00
98kg (34 entries)
Gold – Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df.Musa EVLOEV (RUS), 3-1
Bronze – Revazi NADAREISHVILI (GEO) df. Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), 3-1
Bronze – Balasz KISS (HUN) df. Dimitry TIMCHENKO (UKR), 3-1
